Very moving young adult novel, with cartoons by the narrator. 14 year boy living on an res tells a very touching story of his freshman year going to high school. Love and death and growth. I cried. ( )

When is a YA novel not truly a YA novel? Perhaps when it transcends the conventions of the genre to become a pointed critique of race and socioeconomic class. Or when it is written with such honesty and humor that it feels (absolutely) true rather than fictional. Or when the book is done and you think, “I want to stay in this book some more!” Sherman Alexie’s novel achieves of all these ends and more.

Narrated by Arnold/Junior Spirit, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” defies classification. It is most assuredly semi-autobiographical, its opening lines recall that most classic Bildungsroman “David Copperfield” (whereas David was born with a mystical caul, Junior was born “with water on the brain”), and the story is told through both words and illustrations, although it is not actually a graphic narrative.

The hybrid nature of the story reflects Arnold/Junior’s hybrid identity. Although it would be quite pointless to try to trace a typical “plot” within this book, Arnold/Junior’s stories create a narrative synergy that resonates with meaning and truth. It might be most accurate to sum up the “plot” of this narrative by describing it as Arnold/Junior’s quest for his identity—and he often comments upon this very issue throughout his journey from the rez in Wellpinit to his high school in the white town of Reardan, the “hometowns” to which Alexie dedicates the book. But the book is so much more than that, as it poignantly depicts the struggles of Junior’s entire community and the multiple demons—poverty, alcoholism, hopelessness—that confront them every day.

Despite the grim nature of many of the events in the novel, Alexie imbues the tale with a genuine sense of joy and hope. This book is a monumental achievement, suitable for all readers, YA or otherwise. ( )

Working in the voice of a 14-year-old forces Alexie to strip everything down to action and emotion, so that reading becomes more like listening to your smart, funny best friend recount his day while waiting after school for a ride home.

I was born with water on the brain. Okay, so that's not exactly true. I was actually born with too much cerebral spinal fluid inside my skull. But cerebral spinal fluid is just the doctors' fancy way of saying brain grease.

Quotations

"No, I'm serious. I always knew you were going to leave. I always knew you were going to leave us behind and travel the world. I had this dream about you a few months ago. You were standing on the Great Wall of China. You looked happy. And I was happy for you."

During one week when I was little, Dad got stopped three times for DWI: Driving While Indian.

“Son,” Mr. P. said. “You’re going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad reservation.”

I'd always been the lowest Indian on the reservation totem pole-- I wasn't expected to be good so I wasn't. But in Reardan, my coach and the other players wanted me to be good. They needed me to be good. They expected me to be good. And so I became good.

"I used to think the world was broken down by tribes," I said. "By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn't true. The world is only broken into two tribes. The people who are assholes and the people who are not."

Wikipedia in English (3)

Jr is struggling with being a poor Indian. He is given the opportunity to leave the reservation and start a new life outside of the Native American culture. And thus the story goes from chapter to chapter. This books crosses cultures of the Native American and Reardan, a white/christian culture in a rural setting. This story can be used on many fronts in a classroom. Racism, culture boundaries, friendship(Rowdy, Penelope), and having the ability to change your life. A great story with a lot of possibilities in a classroom.

Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he thought he was destined to live.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie's YA debut, released in hardcover to instant success, recieving seven starred reviews, hitting numerous bestseller lists, and winning the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.